The Battle of the Labyrinth: Annabeth Chase
by soul61
Summary: Percy and Annabeth's first kiss was definitely one to remember. You know Percy's thoughts, now here are Annabeth's!


The Battle of the Labyrinth: Annabeth Chase

"But you'll be killed!" I cried in exasperation, even though I knew nothing could get past that thick skull of his.

"I'll be fine. Besides, we have no choice." He was right. I could hear the barking and clattering of the telekhines heading our way. Our only choice was for one of us to leave with my hat, the other to stay and fight. I glared at him, suddenly mad at how unfair things were. Why couldn't I stay and fight? Why? The answer came to me. He was far braver than anyone I knew.

I still don't know why I did this. Maybe it was some desperate way to say a million things in one last goodbye. I leaned in and kissed him. The look on his brave face was gold when I pulled away. I thought of only one thing to say.

"Be careful, Seaweed Brain." and with that I slipped on my baseball cap and sprinted for the entrance back into the Labyrinth. When the door slid shut, I leaned against it and slid to the floor with a huff, listening. At first it was silent, then… a horrifying scream shook the ancient maze, echoing through the never-ending corridors. I could recognize that voice anywhere, it was the scream of the boy I'd just kissed: Percy Jackson.

Soon after, there was an explosion so immense, rocks and dirt rained down and I was forced to run for cover. After the shaking and rumbling stopped, all was still, and Percy was nowhere to be found.

I was wandering through the maze aimlessly after that (not one of my best moves), crying my eyes out when I found myself at the door of Hephaestus' forge. Puffy-eyed, I spun the handle and swung open the door. Hephaestus was standing with his 10-foot-tall ragged self away from me, tinkering with some scrap metal. I sniffed pointedly, awaring him of my presence.

He turned around, unsurprised and scowled at me.

"So? Report your findings, lass, I haven't got all eternity, by the looks of things." He turned nonchalantly and went back to tinkering, but I could tell he was waiting for my answer. I was suddenly mad. He didn't even notice Percy was gone. Maybe Luke was right; the gods don't care.

"Telekhines are welding some sort of sword at your forge. Percy gave his life to find this information for you, so don't act disappointed." Whoa, I'd been hanging around Percy way too much. He always did have a tendency to tick off the gods. Hephaestus turned back around, surprised.

"Isn't your mother Athena, lass?"

"Yes." He shook his head wonderingly and stared at me.

"So, the lad gave his life, you say. How do you know this?"

"I heard him scream and I think the volcano erupted…" I couldn't go on, or I'd start sobbing again.

"Hmpf." He scoffed and turned back to his work. "I wouldn't be so sure of that. Now, telekhines? This is not good. They worked wonders back when, but then….this is not good, indeed." He rumbled on to himself. I just stood there not knowing what to do. He said not to be sure of Seaweed Brain being dead. How could he be so sure? I wanted to ask the lord of the forges so much more, but now was not the time. Right then, I needed friends and family.

"I need to get back to Camp Half-Blood." I told him.

"But what of your quest to find the inventor, Daedalus?"

"None of it matters right now. I need to get back to camp." I saw his shoulders sag. He suddenly grabbed a piece of metal and tinkered for a second. He spun around and in his gigantic hand was another metal spider. I gulped.

"This will get you back to your camp, lass. You're resourceful, and don't yet give up hope. Not all is as lost as you think it is." He handed me the arachnid, which I dropped and stepped swiftly away from. "Now, be gone!" He waved me off.

The first thing that came to my mind was; why couldn't Hephaestus make these spiders slower? I panted after the tiny thing, blonde hair billowing out behind me. Sweat pored down my back. The spider led me through rooms, around corners, and (thank the gods) away from traps. My invisibility cap bulged from my left pocket, which I hadn't touched since Percy had given his life. I couldn't help thinking about the kiss. I was glad I at least had that last chance with him. I wondered how he'd feel about it if he were alive. I sprinted on through the darkness.

What seemed like hours later, I found the spider, once again, banging its tiny head on one of the exits from the maze. The eerie blue of Daedalus' mark blinded me momentarily from my lack of light. I placed my palm on the dirt wall, and almost immediately the metal rungs of a ladder sprung forth. An opening appeared above my head, revealing a sky of stars. I realized with a start that this was the place Percy and I had accidentally fallen into when being pursued by three monster scorpions nearly two weeks ago. This was the entrance into the Labyrinth right in the heart of Camp Half-Blood.

Being the daughter of Athena and all, I kind of guessed there would be some sort of defense set up to protect camp. But I didn't expect everyone to be there. I grabbed hold of one of the rungs and climbed, leaving the arachnid to the mercy of the maze. As I emerged, I heard yells of "ARM YOURSELVES!" and "AIM! FI-" which were cut off when they recognized me. Then the cries of "Annabeth! Per-" began and ended, echoing fatally through the clearing around Zeus' fist. A hush fell over the campers. I glanced around at my friends; Silena Beuregard, Clarisse, Beckendorf, Malcolm, the Stoll brothers, Lee Fletcher, and saw confusion mirrored on all their faces. The clip-clop of hooves announced Chiron's arrival. When he saw me, he stopped short.

"Annabeth? But…where is Percy, Grover, and Tyson?" He was too stunned to even think about speaking privately. Everyone waited for me to talk. I swallowed.

"Um…well, Tyson and Grover split off to go look for Pan." I told them about speaking to Hephaestus and going to his forge at Mount St. Helens. "We were surrounded. P-Percy told me to put on my h-hat and get away s-safely." I was sobbing now. "He said it was our only ch-chance. As I r-ran away, I heard P-Percy s-scream a-and there was an explosion…" I sobbed harder. "Percy's g-gone." I choked out and knelt to the grass. Silence stretched across the forest. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke.

"Hem, hem." Chiron coughed. "Annabeth, we shall further speak of this at the Big House. The rest of you, back to your stations!" I looked around. All the girls save Clarisse had tears streaming down their faces. The guys shifted uncomfortably and bowed their heads. Chiron scooped me up as if I were a kitten and placed me gently on his back.

I think the gods had seen all I'd gone through, because no nightmares reached me that night in Cabin Six. The next day, to get my mind off things, I went to all my normal classes. People whispered as I walked by, but I forced myself to ignore them. I dove into architecture projects I'd been working on. I couldn't go near Long Island beach, or I'd just start crying again. A week and a half passed of this: me trying to divert my thoughts. Since I was doing this, I guess I hadn't really thought about burning his shroud, because I was shocked when Chiron brought it up.

"Annabeth, it's been two weeks. I fear our prayers will not be answered. It is time to burn Percy's shroud." I looked up at him. We were in the middle of the strawberry fields, starring at nothing in particular. I wanted to protest, but I knew it was the right thing to do. Chiron had to be almost as sad as I was at Percy's death. When I didn't speak, Chiron went on. " Tonight, we shall perform the ceremony. Athena cabin may make the shroud." and with that he galloped away, leaving me to process my thoughts.

Later that afternoon, everyone gathered in the amphitheater. The fire was burning, sending up the smell of wood and smoke. Percy's shroud was made of green silk and was embroidered with a golden trident. He would have been proud of it and would not have let anybody burn it, I thought. My eyes were swollen, once again, from crying so hard. For a group gathering this large, the quietness seemed unnatural. I knew everybody was paying their last respects to Percy. Well, Seaweed Brain, this is to you, I thought miserably. Chiron leaned down and murmured in my ear, "It's time."

"You all know of Percy's great feat in Mount St. Helens. Percy risked his life to help save a friend. We have no body as proof, so we can only assume he is dead." Chiron spoke to the respectful campers. "After so long a silence, it is unlikely our prayers will be answered. I have asked his best surviving friend to do the final honors." I lifted the green cloth on cue and set it gently in the flames. Tears trickled down my face, in danger of putting out the fire. I turned reluctantly toward the crowd.

"He was probably the bravest friend I've ever had." I looked around at all of them, daring any of them to talk. "He…." I stopped short. No way. I looked closer and blushed. Yes way. "He's right there!" I exclaimed. And there he was, the boy I had cried over for two weeks. The boy I'd kissed and thought had died. Percy Jackson. How he could stand there with that stupid grin on his face after all I'd suffered, I have no idea. As glad as I was to see him alive, I was furious it had taken him two weeks to show his face. I pushed through the crowd.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" I rushed over and hugged him, making sure I squeezed his ribs in the process. I realized that there were still campers there and pushed away. "I-we thought you were dead, Seaweed Brain!"

"Sorry." he hesitated. "I got lost."

"LOST? Two weeks Percy? Where in the world-." A thought had come to me. Why had he been blushing when he said he'd been lost? There was only one place in the world for heroes, no scratch that, MALE heroes to stay and not give word of where they were at. Calypso's island. He'd gone there, after I'd kissed him, and fell in love with Calypso! How annoying could one person get? You practically tell the guy you like him, only to have him run off to some other girl!

"Annabeth," Chiron interrupted my thoughts. " Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private, shall we? The rest of you, back to your normal activities!"


End file.
